MOUNT HOLLY – Tracy Black probably put it best when he called East Gaston High’s Class of 1979 an “extraordinary class” during his induction into the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame.

Given what football and baseball teams at the school with Black accomplished and what football and track teams with fellow inductee Richard Dill accomplished, it’s impossible to argue the point.

In truth, a case can be made that Warriors’ athletic teams have been chasing the groundwork set by the class of 1979 ever since.

How significant were those East Gaston teams?

Until that historic school year, Warriors’ football and baseball teams hadn’t won a league title and had only two winning conference seasons in their first six seasons since old Mount Holly and Stanley high schools were consolidated in 1972.

And, in the 35 years since, football has taken two shared league titles and baseball has won six regular season baseball titles (and four tournament titles).

Black and Dill were among six inductees Saturday at the Mount Holly Municipal Center.

Each thanked the coaches that helped them along the way.

Black talked about Mount Holly Junior High coach Wayne Bolick, East Gaston football and baseball coach Jerry Adams, East Gaston football coach Robert Keaton and Belmont Post 144 American Legion coaches Phil Tate and Puddin Broome.

“And I want to thank my teammates who helped me love and enjoy the game,” said Black, who played at N.C. State for four seasons before spending one season in the Minnesota Twins’ organization.

Dill talked about Bolick and Adams and how they were able to help him pursue his collegiate football and track dreams at East Tennessee State University and get a pro football tryout with the old Houston Oilers in 1983.

“So many people helped me is so many ways along that journey,” Dill said.

The 1978 football team finished 10-2 overall and 8-1 in a Southwestern 3A Conference that included four eventual 1981 Clemson national champion players Chuck and Rodney McSwain (Chase), Kevin Mack (Kings Mountain) and Jeff Williams (South Point) and three eventual NFL players (both McSwains and Mack).

Trailing 20-0 in the second quarter at Statesville in the opening round of the N.C. 3A playoffs, Dill scored two touchdowns and Black one as the Warriors rallied for a 21-20 victory.

The following week, East Gaston’s season ended as the Warriors had to play a “home” game at South Point’s Lineberger Stadium since both sides of East Gaston’s stadium hadn’t yet been completed.

In the spring, the success was even greater.

In track, the school’s first-ever all-state track honorees were a 400-yard relay team anchored by Dill and included Vance Luckey, Derek Spears and Jeff Wilson.

Page 2 of 3 - In baseball, Black was the top hitter for a 17-8 team that played its “home” playoff games at Charlotte’s old Crockett Park and Belmont’s Davis Park since East Gaston’s field didn’t have enough available seats for fans.

The Warriors’ season ended in a two games to none N.C. 3A championship series loss to a Jacksonville White Oak team that included a pair of Black’s eventual N.C. State teammates Chuckie Canady and Louie Meadows and a 1980 second-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in pitcher Jeffrey Horne.

“When we get back together, it’s like we’ve never been apart,” Black said of his interaction with his high school teammates and classmates. “The East Gaston High School Class of 1979 is such an extraordinary class.”

Strong supporter

Buddie Hodges was given the fifth Community Spirit Award for his more than 30 years of service to coaching and officiating youth sports.

“Tonight we honor Buddie for offering an opportunity to kids to play sports in our community,” Aaron Suttenfield said of Hodges, a former Mount Holly High football player. “And I can speak to his service since he officiated every basketball game I played from the time I was nine until I was 14 years old.”

Before her time

Lois Herring Parker helped Mount Holly High to its first women’s basketball titles in the 1940s then was involved in barnstorming tours for Hanes Hosiery of Winston-Salem and Queen City Trailways of Charlotte.

Later, at the age of 66, she played on a Raleigh-based team that won its N.C. Senior Games title in 1984.

“She was a pioneer in so many ways,” inductor Gary Neely said of Parker, who at 85 years old attended Saturday’s ceremony with her husband of 60 years Eddie.

Lifelong football fan

A.C. Hollar played football for Mount Holly High in the mid 1940s, was a member of the last Belmont Abbey College teams in 1948 and 1949, spent two years in the University of South Carolina football program and remained supportive of the Gamecocks until his death in 1991.

“As you can imagine, I’d rather he here tonight,” said Hollar’s son Chris, who accepted the honor in his father’s behalf. “But this is quite an honor.”

Unexpected star

After shining for Mount Holly High in 1960 as Gaston County’s leading football scorer, mononucleosis knocked Larry Lawing off the football field two years later.

And, according to Lawing, it took a nudge from former high school teammate Pat Hartsell to get him back on the field.

After getting back into form in 1963, Lawing rushed for 824 yards to earn all-conference, all-district and all-state honors for the Mountaineers in 1964.

Page 3 of 3 - That rushing total was then a school-record for ASU that stood until 1970.

Against his wishes

An inaugural member of the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame committee, current treasurer Gary Neely said he and his fellow committee members had to ask Eddie Wilson to leave the room when they voted on their 2014 class.

Even then, Neely says Wilson didn’t want to be honored.

“So he’s being inducted tonight against his own wishes,” Neely said. “But as you all know, he’s richly deserving of this honor.”

And Neely claimed that Wilson, the leading scorer of Mount Holly’s 1966 state champion football team, holds another record.

“He hit the longest home run I’ve ever seen hit at Costner Field,” Neely said. “It cleared the fence in left center and went about 450 feet.”

You can reach Richard Walker at 704-869-1841 or by twitter.com/JRWalk22